Ole Hansen

Ole Hansen is a salmon smoker. Like many artisan entrepreneurs he has literally built his business brick by brick. He built his traditional smokehouse in Stoke Newington, North London and true to four generations of Hansen and Lydersen craft, he insists on producing his salmon according to the long-standing smoking traditions that have made his family’s success for over 80 years.

His great grandfather Lyder-Nilsen was a salmon fisherman in a small town some 240 miles north of the Arctic Circle. His smoked salmon recipe, using a subtle mixture of juniper and beech woods, turned out a great local success. His son Leif Lydersen, born in 1916, took over the family business in 1962, teaching his two daughters Lil and Bodil how to smoke his traditional Kirkenes salmon. The sisters did not carry on with the smoked salmon business but Lil’s son is Ole Hansen and he has revived the family tradition in London.

Ole is a typical artisan producer – no compromises are made over sourcing or in production and his passion for his craft is deeply personal.